I'm curious and would like to ask some other folks here to try this and see if it works for them. Quite by accident I discovered my region A player plays blu-rays from all regions. I have two players, both Pioneer Elites, one all region and one an older region A player. By accident I slipped the region B disc of Paper Moon into my region A player...got the message on the screen that said the disc would not play due to it being from a different region. Pressed stop on the remote, then again by accident, hit the "Top Menu" button on the remote...and boom the menu comes up on the screen. So I select play movie and sure enough the movie plays no problem.

Curious, I pull Paper Moon out of the player and go get another Region B locked disc, this time Sam Pekinpah's Cross of Iron and go through the same procedure:

Insert disc and wait for it to load.

Get message saying wrong region.

Press stop on the remote.

Press Top Menu on the remote.

Boom the menu comes up and you can play the disc.

I'm guessing that this is just a function of how the region coding works but I only have Pioneer Elite players to test this on. I repeated the process with several other discs that were not region A and this works every time. Can somebody else here that has a region A locked player and some discs locked to other regions give this a try and see if it also works for you? I think I read somewhere that somebody discovered that they could also do this on their Panasonic player using this same process but I think this may work on any player.

Owner

I have to tell you...you piqued my interest -- and I am certain -- you have piqued the interest of just about everyone reading this forum right now.

If this is true, it's a bit of a revelation that will greatly surprise many who suddenly find that their Region "A" Blu-ray player can now play all regions.

So, like everyone else is about to do, I went to my Oppo 93 Blu-ray player and put it through the exact paces you put yours through.

Now, I have to note, my Oppo 93 is already modified to play all regions. However, you have to specifically do a single remote command to reboot it into another region. I did not do that step. I simply played a region "B" disc as if it were a region "A" disc.

The disc I used was the 3D release of "A Turtle's Tale: Sammy's Adventures"

Sure enough, I inserted the disc in my Oppo player, and it gave me an error message that it was unplayable due to being designed for a different region.

I hit STOP

I selected TOP MENU

Unfortunately, it did not work. The Oppo would not go to the Top Menu from the STOP mode. I actually got a red circle with line through it which means that command cannot be accomplished. If I press STOP again (a total of twice) and try to select TOP MENU, the player remains in stopped position.

So, as far as the Oppo is concerned, this does not work.

However, like you, I do encourage other members to try this trick on their players at home and report what they find.

I have a Panasonic Blu-ray player I am going to try it on later today and will get back to you. I should also try this on my PS4.

Yes, Ron, I was surprised to discover this and recalled reading that Panasonic players also were capable of doing this. So, that means it seems to work on Pioneer players and Panasonic players but if this is so simple on these players I wonder why it does not work on other players...or if it in fact does.

I tried several discs from different countries and released by different companies and it has worked every time so far. It's not all that important because I also have an all region player but I can't help being very curious how many players this will work on.

Perhaps Charles is right and it only works on some players and perhaps there are some discs from certain companies that this will not work with. So far in my tests I have 100% positive results.

I think if people test this and post their results here you should state the player you are testing this on and the disc or discs you use for the test.

Reviewer

I read somewhere once that on Panasonic players, if you hit stop and then top menu, it will ask which region you want and you can select. However, from what I understood, you can only do this five times and then the player locks into the last region selected.

Moderator

I read somewhere once that on Panasonic players, if you hit stop and then top menu, it will ask which region you want and you can select. However, from what I understood, you can only do this five times and then the player locks into the last region selected.

Click to expand...

If true then people need to be careful about trying this trick. I have four region modified players including Oppo 93 & 103.

I can't say anything about the Panasonic as I do not own one. I've done this more than 5 times now on my Pioneer and it still plays region A discs the same as it always did. However, when I do this on my Pioneer the player does not prompt me to choose a region it just goes right to the disc menu as if bypassing the region block. I don't think this would have any effect on a player even if the player prompts you asking you to select a region.

Now, I have to note, my Oppo 93 is already modified to play all regions. However, you have to specifically do a single remote command to reboot it into another region. I did not do that step. I simply played a region "B" disc as if it were a region "A" disc.

The disc I used was the 3D release of "A Turtle's Tale: Sammy's Adventures"

Click to expand...

I think the Pioneer trick is similar to the Panasonic. OTOH I've never read about the 5 attempt block other than with PC drives -- I'll check further.

I wonder how this handles disc with 50Hz material -- I would assume if your player is 50Hz incompatible it still wouldn't help (or only outputs 50Hz and your Display is not multi freq compatible.

I did read an interesting thing with the OPPO I'd never considered, but it led to some confusion about the actual region coding of a couple Region B locked items. The recent release in German of Ratatouille 3D had all region labels on the back cover and disc similar to the Indian Rat3D, but is properly Region B locked like all the rest of the prior releases. The UK 3D re-release was listed as Region Free on Amazon UK, but I have less hopes now that that is the truth.

Apparently OPPO has a disc ID memory for the region so it seems if you change your player to Region B and play "Sammy" like you normally would and don't hit stop while the disc is in the Player (I guess just eject), then change the player back to Region A & reinsert the disc it will play the disc fine. As long as you don't hit stop with the disc in the player and don;t manually erase the 'persistant memory' the player remembers the disc and proper Region,

I've only tried this with one disc and it seemed to work -- it would certainly make playing multiregion easier if you could just 'activate' your Region Locked disc once and then leave it in Region A most of the time.

HW Reviewer

This "trick"(lack of better term) has been known on Panny and LG players for a while.

And it is hit and miss per disc.

The good part here(and probably why it works) is Panasonic, LG and Pioneer are the only Blu Ray players...

1. Universally 110-240/50-60hz
2. Out of the box(regardless of hacked) 50->60 and 60->50(this is probably most important. Sony includes, on most TV/BD, universal power supply...but not a 50/60 conversion. Having this as an original spec means that player is sold world wide. Why Oppo doesn't do this...no clue)

The good part here(and probably why it works) is Panasonic, LG and Pioneer are the only Blu Ray players...

1. Universally 110-240/50-60hz
2. Out of the box(regardless of hacked) 50->60 and 60->50(this is probably most important. Sony includes, on most TV/BD, universal power supply...but not a 50/60 conversion. Having this as an original spec means that player is sold world wide. Why Oppo doesn't do this...no clue)

Click to expand...

Ah, Sam may be on to something here as if it is these three brands of players that do this that may the explanation for why it works. I am just curious how many players it works on and that's why I brought it up. I don't know how many people here own more than one player and have different brands of players but I would love to read the results of their testing this.

They keep the frame rate intact(meaning the TV has to do the 24/25-50/60. But the fact a 60hz based player can play 50...at 50 in the first place)

Almost all TV can do the conversion(I don't think I've owned a DVI/HDMI TV that couldn't).

Click to expand...

Are you saying most TVs can display a PAL or 50Hz signal without conversion? Because in North America, at last, very few can. Panasonic, Sony, Samsung and Vizio (most models) don't. I think Sharp is the only model that consistently does. Not sure about LG.

Sealed with a curse as sharp as a knife. Doomed is your soul and damned is your life.

This may be a long shot at best, but I wonder whether the same principle of pressing "Stop" and accessing the "Menu" could be applied to my external Pioneer Blu-ray Burner, Model # BDR-XD05B?

It would be really handy to be able to play BDs from all Regions, without having to burn through my 4 remaining Region change options!

Based on previous posts, I'm thinking the only possible issue (Albeit, perhaps an insurmountable one?) may be whether the same principle of gaining play ability for all 3 BD Regions would work with a Virtual Software Remote, or if this would be defeated by its very Software (Rather than Hardware!) based nature?

HW Reviewer

Are you saying most TVs can display a PAL or 50Hz signal without conversion? Because in North America, at last, very few can. Panasonic, Sony, Samsung and Vizio (most models) don't. I think Sharp is the only model that consistently does. Not sure about LG.

The LG and Samsung I bought after I went multi-region BD(1 Orei, 10 LG and the Orei is paired up with a BD35).

I should also add...

I have 6 AVR* setups. It is completely possible 50-60 was handled in the AVR. I bought all the other plasma sets and multi-region BD at the same time when plasma(basic models) were under $600. Got rid of every tube TV I had.

*The 48" Mits, both Hitachi, 4 Panny and 1 LG have always had AVR with them. They've never had a direct connection(other than OTA).

This may be a long shot at best, but I wonder whether the same principle of pressing "Stop" and accessing the "Menu" could be applied to my external Pioneer Blu-ray Burner, Model # BDR-XD05B?

It would be really handy to be able to play BDs from all Regions, without having to burn through my 4 remaining Region change options!

Based on previous posts, I'm thinking the only possible issue (Albeit, perhaps an insurmountable one?) may be whether the same principle of gaining play ability for all 3 BD Regions would work with a Virtual Software Remote, or if this would be defeated by its very Software (Rather than Hardware!) based nature?

The Software that I use is Cyberlink PowerDVD 12.

CHEERS!

Click to expand...

I think I may have answered my own question. Having just tried playing a Blu-ray, I found that the Software Remote cannot be accessed once Playback is stopped. Besides that, this "More Functions" Software Remote doesn't even include ANY Menu Access Function, let alone a "Top Menu" one!

I read somewhere once that on Panasonic players, if you hit stop and then top menu, it will ask which region you want and you can select. However, from what I understood, you can only do this five times and then the player locks into the last region selected.

Click to expand...

This is not true.

It might well be for PC players as this was also standard with dvd drives and still is.

This MENU trick is quite well known on Panasonic devices. It worked on my UK Bluray player and it works on my current Bluray Disc Recorder. It's not limited by numbers but it is limited to certain labels.

US fans should find that the majority of titles from Arrow, Studio Canal and possibly Network ( not tried many of those) will work with Panasonic Region A players.

This may be a long shot at best, but I wonder whether the same principle of pressing "Stop" and accessing the "Menu" could be applied to my external Pioneer Blu-ray Burner, Model # BDR-XD05B?

It would be really handy to be able to play BDs from all Regions, without having to burn through my 4 remaining Region change options!

Based on previous posts, I'm thinking the only possible issue (Albeit, perhaps an insurmountable one?) may be whether the same principle of gaining play ability for all 3 BD Regions would work with a Virtual Software Remote, or if this would be defeated by its very Software (Rather than Hardware!) based nature?

The Software that I use is Cyberlink PowerDVD 12.

CHEERS!

Click to expand...

Hey Tony, I bet that even none of those options you're talking about would help my buddy who somehow got a (probably unauthorized, bootleg) Blu-ray edition of Behind The Green Door. He says that Blu-ray is definitely not an all-region one because every time Marilyn Chambers appears onscreen, the picture skips ahead before the viewer can see the region of Marilyn that's below the waist.

The good part here(and probably why it works) is Panasonic, LG and Pioneer are the only Blu Ray players...

1. Universally 110-240/50-60hz
2. Out of the box(regardless of hacked) 50->60 and 60->50(this is probably most important. Sony includes, on most TV/BD, universal power supply...but not a 50/60 conversion. Having this as an original spec means that player is sold world wide. Why Oppo doesn't do this...no clue)

Click to expand...

"only" in the U.S. you mean, there are others available that work, even in Canada. But I agree with your theory of what's likely to work and what won't, it seems to echo what I have here that works (not sold in U.S.), and I have no Panny, LG, or Pio players: a universal power supply (ex. plug) is the first big clue.

Re Oppo: AFAIK, based on the many (too many...) Oppos I have and have owned, they ALL do 50/60Hz stuff. Unlike Sonys. If that's what you were talking about... And the three Oppos I still have ALL have universal power supplies, and I'm pretty sure the others did too. Oppos are extremely easy to make all-region, heck, they had to go out of their way to remove that capability, why it's so easy to un-remove it.

Moderator

I'm curious and would like to ask some other folks here to try this and see if it works for them. Quite by accident I discovered my region A player plays blu-rays from all regions. I have two players, both Pioneer Elites, one all region and one an older region A player. By accident I slipped the region B disc of Paper Moon into my region A player...got the message on the screen that said the disc would not play due to it being from a different region. Pressed stop on the remote, then again by accident, hit the "Top Menu" button on the remote...and boom the menu comes up on the screen. So I select play movie and sure enough the movie plays no problem.

Curious, I pull Paper Moon out of the player and go get another Region B locked disc, this time Sam Pekinpah's Cross of Iron and go through the same procedure:

Insert disc and wait for it to load.

Get message saying wrong region.

Press stop on the remote.

Press Top Menu on the remote.

Boom the menu comes up and you can play the disc.

I'm guessing that this is just a function of how the region coding works but I only have Pioneer Elite players to test this on. I repeated the process with several other discs that were not region A and this works every time. Can somebody else here that has a region A locked player and some discs locked to other regions give this a try and see if it also works for you? I think I read somewhere that somebody discovered that they could also do this on their Panasonic player using this same process but I think this may work on any player.

Post your findings here, thanks!

Click to expand...

Hey, Reggie. Which players do you have?

I have a Pioneer Elite BDP-62FD. I'd check mine out...but I don't own any region-locked non-region A discs. I've ordered a few discs from the UK and Japan but have always been sure they are region free.

I love this player...as it plays every kind of disc I have: Blu/DVD/SACD/DVD-A...